Remembering Chicago Again (1995)

The Janes

Defying the state legislature that outlawed abortion, the Catholic Church that condemned it, and the Chicago Mob that was profiting from it, the members of “Jane” risked their personal and professional lives to support women with unwanted pregnancies. In the pre-Roe v. Wade era — a time when abortion was a crime in most states and even circulating information about abortion was a felony in Illinois — the Janes provided low-cost and free abortions to an estimated 11,000 women.

The Deadly Look of Love

Janet Flanders is a small-town, unsophisticated young woman who is seduced by the fantasy of romantic love; she believes that someday her prince will come to sweep her away. Then she meets handsome Brett Becker; she believes she's found the man of her dreams -- little suspecting he is engaged to marry a wealthy socialite. Deep into her illusion that Brett loves her, she moves to Chicago to be closer to him, deluge him with calls and love notes, tells her family about her boyfriend Brett, and buys an engagement ring. Her obsession with him leads her from intrigue and eventually to murder.

The Marva Collins Story

Cicely Tyson was Emmy-nominated as Outstanding Actress for her portrait of a Chicago schoolteacher whose remarkable achievements with black children labelled "unteachable" were spotlighted in a 1979 "60 Minutes" segment about how she became disillusioned with the traditional school system and decided to work outside of it, transforming her students into young scholars through her unique teaching style.

Irish Chicago

The colorful stories of Irish-American immigrants and their descendants who lived the history and exemplify the repeated cycle of the outsider becoming the ultimate Chicago citizen-insider.

Eliot Ness vs. Al Capone

January, 1947. The public receives the news of Al Capone's death with indifference, although twenty years earlier he had ruled Chicago's crime underworld with brute force and corrupting many touchable individuals. Until the day the head of the Untouchables Brigade, Eliot Ness, entered the scene. Since then, a cruel battle between the two of them began, a battle that ended in trial, conviction, disease, insanity and death.

Life After People

In this special documentary that inspired a two-season television series, scientists and other experts speculate about what the Earth, animal life, and plant life might be like if, suddenly, humanity no longer existed, as well as the effect humanity's disappearance might have on the artificial aspects of civilization.

Pooh: The Derrick Rose Story

A never before seen look at the meteoric rise of Derrick Rose, the young Chicago superstar that was suddenly derailed by devastating injuries and unrealistic expectations for a hometown hero.

'85: The Greatest Team in Football History

Through never-been-seen-before footage and fascinating interviews with key members of the 1985 Chicago Bears -- Mike Ditka, Jim McMahon, Mike Singletary, and others -- you will hear the inside story of their historic season.

Hoop Dreams

Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.

Who Gets the Dog?

Six years after saying "I do," Olive and Clay call it quits. Although they split amicably, both want custody of their beloved dog Wesley and they end up in court. With everything at stake, can man's best friend find a way to reunite the couple?

Michelle Obama: Life After the White House

Former First Lady Michelle Obama's story has just begun. The Obamas have remained quite busy with their new life of activism which includes their issue-oriented production company, Higher Ground, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary in 2020. Mrs. Obama's autobiography, Becoming, has become the best-selling memoir of all time and even won a Grammy following the publication of her book. Get lost in the incredible journey of this modern-day First Lady's story in the making...

Logan's War: Bound by Honor

Chuck Norris stars as martial arts extraordinaire Jake Fallon, who, after the death of his brother and sister-in-law, adopts (and trains) his orphaned nephew. Logan (Eddie Cibrian, TV's Invasion). After fifteen years of careful instruction, Logan is determined to avenge his parents Death... And, he'll need Uncle Jake's help to do it.

Tintin in America

In order to assassinate the inquisitive Belgian reporter Tintin, the evil gangster Al Capone orders Smiles, an executive under his command, to lure him to a meeting to be held in Chicago…

Disney: Through the Looking Glass

Tito del Amo, a passionate 72-year-old researcher, takes the final step to unravel the enigma about the alleged Spanish origin of the American cartoonist Walt Disney, making the same journey that his supposed mother made to give him up for adoption in Chicago. A journey that begins in Mojácar, Almería, Spain, and ends in New York. An exciting adventure, like Alicia's through the looking glass, to discover what is truth and what is not, with an unexpected result.

Chicago 10

Archival footage, animation and music are used to look back at the eight anti-war protesters who were put on trial following the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Cooked: Survival by Zip Code

Filmmaker Judith Helfand's searing investigation into the politics of “disaster” – by way of the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave, in which 739 residents perished (mostly Black and living in the city’s poorest neighborhoods).

The John Wayne Gacy Murders: Life and Death in Chicago

Summaries "The John Wayne Gacy Murders: Life and Death in Chicago", Focuses on serial killer John Wayne Gacy's time in Chicago and includes information about Gacy's childhood, his career of crime in Waterloo, Iowa, and Gacy's becoming a celebrity in prison. Containing interviews with Chicago attorneys, news reporters, law enforcement officers, and history experts, the film illustrates what the atmosphere was like in Chicago when Gacy was murdering and ultimately apprehended. Gacy's time in prison as a celebrity serial killer is also explored in this groundbreaking film by Chicago native filmmaker John Borowski. —John Borowski

Christmas at Cartwright's

With Christmas approaching, a struggling single mom finds herself working as a department store Santa Claus, as a real-life angel delivers good fortune and the possibility of holiday romance.

Chicago at the Crossroad

While gun violence was on the decline in most major US cities, why did it continue to increase in Chicago's segregated communities? What is known about the systems that created the problem, the laws that isolated it, and the policies that abandoned it? Using dramatic footage, including interviews with residents on the front lines over the last 15 years, this documentary opens a rare historical window into the systematic creation of poverty stricken communities plagued by gun violence. 

The Saint of Second Chances

Mike Veeck, son of MLB franchise owner Bill Veeck, blows up his father's career. Exiled from the game he loves, the younger Veeck spends the next few decades clawing his way up from rock bottom, determined to redeem himself.

Special When Lit

What made more money than the entire American movie industry through the 50s and 60s? Pinball. Special When Lit rediscovers the lure of a lost pop icon. A product of the mechanical and electrical age, the American invention swept the world and defined cool. Now it is relegated to a nostalgic footnote deserving a better fate. Joining the fans, collectors, designers and champion players from across the globe who share a world many of us didn't know still existed.

Best of Enemies

A documentary about the legendary series of nationally televised debates in 1968 between two great public intellectuals, the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. Intended as commentary on the issues of their day, these vitriolic and explosive encounters came to define the modern era of public discourse in the media, marking the big bang moment of our contemporary media landscape when spectacle trumped content and argument replaced substance. Best of Enemies delves into the entangled biographies of these two great thinkers, and luxuriates in the language and the theater of their debates, begging the question, "What has television done to the way we discuss politics in our democracy today?"

Public Housing

Public Housing is Wiseman’s unflinching portrayal of life at the Ida B. Wells housing project in Chicago, a raw exposition of the daily conflicts between residents and the bureaucratic machinery to which they are continually subjected. With intimate detail and an abiding dedication to his subject, Wiseman unearths the hidden facets of institutions to find humanity and sites of unexpected beauty.

Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade

As Chicago gears up for its annual Thanksgiving Day parade, Emily Jones, an eager parade coordinator is shocked when Henry Williams, a wealthy new development consultant, is brought in to analyze the parade's finances.

All These Sons

On Chicago's South and West sides, the scourge of guns and gangs is destroying countless lives. Taking matters into their own hands, two men dedicate their lives educating, empowering and healing young Black men at high risk for being victims—or perpetrators—of deadly gun-violence.

Look Again

Just as her life is coming together, Allison experiences a terrible tragedy when her boyfriend is murdered by an intruder from whom the woman herself barely escapes. The police capture a man they believe to be the killer, but Allison, still unsettled, has her doubts. Things take a frightening turn when she meets her friend's new boyfriend and suspects him to be the killer.

Time Travelers

When a novel virus devastates the world in 1976, Dr. Earnshaw notices that it resembles a virus that a Dr. Henderson found a cure for in 1871 Chicago. However, the doctor perished and his notes were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire. Earnshaw is approached by a government agent, Jeffrey Adams, who informs him of a Top Secret time traveling technology and asks for his assistance in finding Dr. Henderson and his cure. But their adventure becomes a race against time when a glitch sends them back to the day before the fire instead of the planned four days.

The Lumineers - Live from Wrigley Field

In September of 2022, with over 41,000 fans in attendance, The Lumineers took fans on an anthemic, foot-stomping journey with the BRIGHTSIDE World Tour, ending their largest worldwide tour to date at Chicago's historic Wrigley Field.

Dear Ike: Lost Letters to a Teen Idol

In this animated documentary, Los Angeles filmmaker Dion Labriola recounts his all-consuming childhood quest to contact his teen idol, Ike Eisenmann - and the magical turn of events that led him toward his goal (some 40 years later).

Inside The Mob's Bloody Valentine

The St. Valentine's Day massacre is the stuff of American legend, and the tale is familiar to nearly everyone. But the story of that bloody day in Chicago has never been told, or seen, like this before. Cutting-edge graphics and frenetic recreations accompany Johnny Fratto, son of onetime Al Capone-associate Louis "Lew" Fratto, back to Chicago, where he uncovers massacre myths and learns more about the life his father and uncles led when they roamed those lawless streets in the 1920s. Johnny gets guidance and opinions from a team of renowned Chicago gangster experts, and bridges the gap between the stories he heard as a little boy and the reality he lived growing up in a mob family. Johnny's take about what happened on Feb. 14, 1929 will surprise you.

To Sir, with Love II

After thirty years teaching in London, Mark Thackeray retires and returns to Chicago. There, however, the challenge of teaching kids in an inner city school proves to be too much to resist.

Lies and Deception

Six years after her husband's suicide, Jean Bruckner is dumbfounded by the news that he has recently been murdered! With the help of a private investigator, she heads to Chicago to uncover the truth behind her spouse's charade. The deeper she digs, the more danger she puts herself in. The truth may be out there, but she may get killed before she finds it!

Long Gone Summer

An examination of the 1998 MLB season and the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. The two sluggers' race to hit the most home runs, later overshadowed by the steroid scandal, left a permanent mark on baseball history.

United in Grief

Suffering debilitating grief from the passing of his best friend who introduced him to the world of dance, Derrick must confront a monster that seeks to separate him from everything he loves.